Sales Increase Again In April

Retail Trade Survey: April 2001

Seasonally adjusted retail sales increased by 0.9 per cent in April 2001 compared with March 2001, according to Statistics New Zealand. This follows two similar increases in February and March 2001, after a 0.4 per cent fall in January 2001. Seasonally adjusted sales for the core retailing group (excluding the motor vehicle services and retailing storetypes) also increased by 0.9 per cent.

At the beginning of the year, indications were that the rate of growth in the total retail sales trend was easing. This is no longer the case. The latest result continues a pattern of growth seen in the trend that has now been evident for almost three years. During this period, the trend has increased by 17.3 per cent.

Eight out of 15 storetypes recorded an increase in seasonally adjusted sales in April 2001. The food retailing storetype made the largest contribution to the overall increase in total seasonally adjusted sales, followed by the department and motor vehicle retailing storetypes.

Ian Ewing DEPUTY GOVERNMENT STATISTICIAN

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